What percentage of our energy is renewable and non-renewable?

Question

what do you think about those percentages? how do they make you feel about the energy usage in your state?

i want to know what people think... its great to hear people out once in a while.

Answer 1

These are the numbers as of November 2007:

Coal: 48.4%

Natural Gas: 21.7%

Nuclear: 19.3%

Renewables (Biomass, Hydroelectric, Geothermal, Solar, and Wind): 9%

Petroleum: 1.6%

I hate how our government continues to invest in fossile fuel and nuclear technologies instead of cleaner and greener sources of energy. President bush is always bitching and moaning about how we are addicted to oil, and how we need to become energy independent, when he's the one kissing and dancing with the oil rich Saudi king.

Answer 2

If you click the link below, you can actually input your zip code, choose your utility provider, and find out exactly how much of the energy supplied to you is renewable (and how it compares to the national average).

In my state (California) the power is quite environmentally friendly, and I'm happy about that.  I think the rest of the country needs to follow California's example.

Answer 3

I recently had much the same question, and was surprised to find that US renewable energy consumption increased between 2005-2006, to total 7% of all US energy consumption.  

Unfortunately, during that same time US energy consumption consisted of 40% Oil and 23% Coal, while renewable energy consumption consisted of about 7%.  

There were some great leaps in percentage of renewable energy sources (such as wind energy which increased 45%, and biofuels which increased nearly 28% from the previous reporting period), these sources accounted for only a little over 1 quadrillion Btu's (British Terminal Units), or about one seventh of total US renewable energy consumption.  

I can only hope that the trends in renewable energy continue when the 2007 data is released.  The 2007 data to be released in 2008 (go bureaucracy!).  

I found the sited link to be very helpful in visually breaking down the total US renewable energy usage.

Great question!

N&J @ http://badhuman.wordpress.com